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For the first time "No Religion" has topped a survey of Americans' religious identity, according to a new analysis by a political scientist. The non-religious edged out Catholics and evangelicals in the long-running General Social Survey.
Ryan Burge, a political scientist at Eastern Illinois University and a Baptist pastor, found that 23.1% of Americans now claim no religion.
Catholics came in at 23.0%, and evangelicals were at 22.5%.
The three groups remain within the margin of error of each other though, making it a statistical tie. Over 2,000 people were interviewed in person for the survey.
[...] "We are seeing the rise of a generation of Americans who are hungry for facts and curious about the world," she says.
-- submitted from IRC
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Survey: As Many Americans Claim No Religion as there are Evangelicals, Catholics
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Two is not equal to three, even for large values of two.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @01:11AM (23 children)
Fake gods and goddesses that represent various natural forces/events? No thanks.
I create meaning in my own life. Passing that buck to nonexistent constructs is moronic.
As such, it's likely that the non-religious are much less easily led than those who already believe blatant and easily debunked lies.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday April 15 2019, @01:16AM
Long time passed - no longer burning the offering to gods, now there's the very-much-existing churches as the constructs to take care about your buck.
Can't blame you for your naive hopes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @01:21AM (12 children)
I would dispute that.
I thought that when I was younger, but I see people believing some pretty obviously ridiculous and downright suicidal things (for society and individual lives) these days. If people don't get their direction for what is important from church, then they get it from popular media, corporate agendas, and the echo chambers of social media / internet.
Frankly, even if you don't believe at all in the supernatural, the lessons for how to live your life are much healthier coming from the church than from outside it. Secular culture is simply infantile self-gratification and consumption. Jesus knew it, the Buddha knew it, and I'm sure other religious traditions knew it too. Our circumstances may change, but human nature never does.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @02:17AM (2 children)
99% of the lessons from churches are absolutely toxic, and the remaining 1% are obvious to anyone with a brain.
Yes, how dare people actually enjoy their lives, rather than just religious leaders who benefit from others' stupidity.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @03:59AM (1 child)
Sorry but your understanding of Christianity is totally superficial and not accurate. Did you form it from sound bites and bumper stickers, or did you actually attend church and take part in church volunteering?
Look, the loudmouths get all the attention, but what do you know about the quiet Christians? Nothing, from your response. You're just a hater.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @05:58AM
Different AC. In my experience the intent of individual <insert name of religion here>s is good. The intent of organized <insert name of religion here> is self-serving and questionable. The larger the religious organization the more greed, corruption, politics and hypocrisy they practice.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by NotSanguine on Monday April 15 2019, @05:03AM (7 children)
An interesting, if flawed argument. Yes, some folks aren't so bright and are often led astray by those who would manipulate them, for money, power, self-aggrandizement or some combination thereof.
However, using demonstrably false belief systems as a structure for society is lunacy in a world that now has a much better understanding of the universe in which we live.
This [youtube.com] provides some context:
We are no longer hunters and nomads. No longer awed and frightened, as we have gained some understanding of the world in which we live. As such, we can (aside from fiction and fantasy to tickle our imaginations and stretch our ideas of what is possible) cast aside childish remnants from the dawn of our civilization.
Failing to do so does no service to those who are easily swayed or manipulated. Rather, it just perpetuates magical thinking and intellectual maturity.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Monday April 15 2019, @05:17AM (2 children)
Argh! That should read:
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday April 15 2019, @04:20PM (1 child)
> I'd argue that there is much evidence for the existence of a God.
Pics or it didn't happen.
-- Tom (/. uid 822)
I don't recall Sagan ever having conducted television services on Sunday
morning, and I know that Stephen Jay Gould never rang my doorbell asking
me for a few minutes of my time, and for the life of me I can't remember
Bertrand Russell ever coming up to me on the street and asking me if I
had let Reason into my heart. -- cje (/. id. 33931)
I do not think, therefore He is.
-- Noughmad on /.
Religion is the best way to heal a world deeply and violently divided by religion
-- DannyB on SoylentNews (2018/11)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Monday April 15 2019, @04:29PM
Fabulous! Thanks!
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday April 15 2019, @03:13PM (3 children)
Beautifully worded - may I snarf that, with attribution of course, for rotation in my usenet .sig file?
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Monday April 15 2019, @04:04PM (2 children)
You certainly may. And thank you!
However, I'd point out that I was inspired by this [youtube.com], so some credit should be given to Eugen Weber [wikipedia.org] as well.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday April 15 2019, @04:13PM (1 child)
If as we watch it I spot a sufficiently similar soundbite, then I will "-- Eugen Weber, via NotSanguine on SoylentNews" it, else I will "-- NotSanguine on SoylentNews, after Eugen Weber" it.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Monday April 15 2019, @04:24PM
Something about the comment to which I was replying made me think of the Weber quote (which immediately precedes the bit you like):
I used it to compare where we are now to how we began with this:
There is, perhaps, more of Weber in that than there is of me. As such, I would much prefer that you include him in any attribution.
FYI. The quote above contains the first three sentences of the first episode of the series. As such, you won't have to wait long to find it. :)
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday April 15 2019, @05:30AM
Many forms of Buddhism aren't exactly religious, more philosophical. OTOH, lots of groups took the Buddhist philosophy and turned it into a religion, or, more precisely, merged it with their local religion without giving up belief in spirits, etc.
OTOH, if you follow most of these forms of Buddhist spiritual beliefs closely enough, it turns into psychology, or at least it *can* turn into psychology. Read C. G. Jung on mandala symbolism.
That said, naive materialism is just as blatantly and clearly wrong as naive spiritualism. The world is a projection of the mind, and the senses are not direct maps from the external reality into what we perceive as reality. If I say "All is Maya", or "Maya is the great magician" I'm saying words that mean precisely what the second sentence of this paragraph said, but more concisely, and, if you understand what Maya means, equally precisely. Normal scientific description of reality when applied to a person tells you what someone else would be able to detect. But red is red, and that it matches a particular group of electromagnetic wavelengths doesn't tell you as much what it looks like to the perceiver as saying "it's red".
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @01:22AM (2 children)
<smirk>That's OK. You can go on believing that, if it makes you feel better.</smirk>
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Monday April 15 2019, @02:27AM (1 child)
The OP probably meant less easily lead by common religious idiots, the kind that try to convert you to their religion. Once one realizes there is not a magic sky being, it is hard to go back to thinking down to that level.
But indeed there are entire corporations that revolve around controlling people and altering the way they think. Usually to sell a product, service, or influence politics. But if they could create an entire religion (for example, like the Cult of Steve Jobs) they would.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @05:14AM
OP here.
That's a reasonable interpretation of my point, although I'd also say that those who aren't taught to believe in magical thinking are much more likely to look skeptically at things in other areas of their lives.
As to resisting the influence of "surveillance capitalism," modern marketing methods and their ilk, not promoting magical nonsense is just the first step. Teaching critical thinking skills, encouraging intellectual curiosity and calling out attempts at manipulation for what they are is important as well.
Given that (at least in the US), quality education has been steadily harder to come by for those with less economic means is troubling. This, by the way, isn't an accident of history. Rather, it's been a goal of those who wish to control the majority through manipulation.
By limiting quality education, those they wish to demonize have fewer resources to fight back, and those they wish to manipulate for their support don't have the resources to see or understand the bankruptcy of the messages presented by such people.
It's rather depressing, actually. Sigh.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday April 15 2019, @06:02AM (1 child)
Passing that buck to nonexistent constructs is moronic.
On the believers' part, yes, you would think, but it's perfect for absolving oneself of all blame. His god forgives his lying, cheating, stealing, killing. And for the Pharisees, it is the best method of crowd control to date. Religion makes a very good hammer.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @06:57AM
Unless you're the nail. And when you're a hammer *everything* looks like a nail.
No thanks.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday April 15 2019, @02:52PM (3 children)
I have to disagree.
Having religion allows me to be able to look down upon and to judge everyone else -- just as Jesus taught.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday April 15 2019, @03:36PM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by fritsd on Monday April 15 2019, @03:40PM
As it is written in the book of Mattheus chapter 7 verse 5 [wikipedia.org] ... or maybe slightly differently...
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday April 15 2019, @05:17PM
I guess I needed a /sarc tag on that.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.